Objective/Research Question: This paper reports on data collected in a multi-year National Science Foundation grant project involving a professional development (PD) model built to support community college faculty as change agents (CAs). The research question was: How do disciplinary communities of practice (CoP) emerge among community college…

Not beginning college at a four-year institution has been demonstrated as one key obstacle to equitable rates of bachelor's degree attainment among Hispanic individuals in the United States. Drawing on nationally representative longitudinal data and social capital theory, this research investigates the process of four-year college enrollment among…

Public community colleges rely increasingly on high percentages of adjunct or part-time faculty. While these faculty members often teach many course sections, they often are disconnected from the institutional culture and mission. This comparative case study examined two New England community colleges, one with 100% part-time faculty and one with…

With the rising number of major crises on college campuses today (Security on Campus Inc., 2009), institutions of higher education can benefit from understanding of how social networks may be used in times of emergency. What is currently known about the usage of social networks is not integral to the current practices of crisis management that are…

This qualitative study explored Facebook as a communication tool for student affairs and compared it as a source with other communication modalities to describe the 18-24 year old student preference on receiving information about student affairs departments and activities. The research questions were designed to provide feedback on the current…

Technology usage is increasing important for community college students, but whether nontraditional students differ from traditional students in technology usage and support was unclear. Further, it was not known whether Nontraditional and Traditional community college students feel equally connected to the college when using social networking…

This grounded theory study investigates adult student persistence at a community college. Student persistence in college is a prerequisite for degree achievement, which correlates with higher earnings and overall better quality of life. Persistence rates remain low for adult students, who combine their college endeavors with responsibilities to…

For the thirty-sixth year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Anaheim, California. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…